This could well be the year ‘small’ becomes next big thing, thanks in no small part to Robbie Britton, the man behind one of the industry’s most successful regional shows. So successful, in fact, is Robbie’s uniquely intimate approach to learning and networking that he is taking his ArmDJs show on the road.

“When I started ArmDJs eleven years ago the whole premise was to offer an alternative to the Vegas and Atlantic City shows,” says Robbie. “Time is a big issue for a lot people, getting away from life long enough to travel and all that. That sparked the idea of offering a show a little closer to home that still has all the benefits of a large show.”

It’s an idea that has certainly caught on, as evidenced by the growing number of attendees you’ll find flocking to ArmDJs’ yearly Greenville, Tennessee meet.

“Once folks attend, they get addicted,” says Robbie. “It’s awesome to network with people in your region. Plus you get to meet the people behind the scenes, the faces behind all the name brands we have on hand. That’s a big benefit you don’t get at the big shows.”

ArmDJs’ commitment to making sure your business and networking needs don’t get lost in the crowd has its backyard vibe coming soon to Atlanta (GA), Richmond (VA), Louisville (KY), Orlando (FL), and Bluffton (SC).

“We done our show in East Tennessee for a while now,” say Robbie. “So we’ve got that down pretty good. Now that we’ve brought it back to a one-day format the time seems right to take our brand to other markets and to invite DJs to bring their families along for a day or two of business and pleasure.”

Easy enough to do as all ArmDJs events allow for Sunday travel time, Monday seminars and Tuesday to attend additional workshops, take in the local sights with family and new friends or both.

Highlights for the tour’s first stop, Atlanta, include a Walking Dead tour, with a Disney connection in the works for ArmDJs’ Orlando stop.

“If you’re new to regional shows, let me just say that they’re really like a family reunion, a great way to get out and connect with friends old and new without the crowds and without messing with your weekend.”

We’ve all seen that DJ who keeps it real by playing unedited hip-hop at all his events, including your college roommate’s daughter’s Quinceanera (true story).

Don’t be that guy - especially when breaking the habit of relying on the same tired tool has never been easier, thanks to the variety of event-specific edits you’ll find available in POOL.

The Edit

Radio Edits – The Swiss Army knife of edits, radio edits check all the boxes for FCC-compliant play, but can include words that while not obscene aren’t suitable for “polite” play.

Clean Edits – If words that rhyme with “itch,” “pass,” “well,” and “yo” might get your “putt” in a sling, you’ll want to lean on the family-safe play you’ll find via our many clean edits.

Intro Edits – Need a few extra beats to nail that next mix? You’ll find 32 of them attached front and back to the original version of all tracks that bear the Intro Edit tag.

Quick Edits – Featuring the same 32-beat intros and outros found in our Intro Edits, Quick Edits are designed to provide rapid-fire delivery for today’s “don’t bore us, get to the chorus” crowds.

Explicit – Unfiltered and unedited, these are the versions your parents didn’t want you listening to, even on your headphones. P.S. Your mom knew. She always knew. She just pretended she didn’t and hoped you’d grow up to be a doctor.

There are lots of reasons why we think scratching is such an important skill for DJs to have and why we give it the same importance as those other “big” areas, but today I thought I’d share with you five of the big ones.

1. To many people, scratching IS DJing – Ask your grandmother to do her best DJ impression. She’ll more than likely put one had to her ear (that’ll be the headphones), and with the other hand? Make a scratching motion. Look, this stuff goes back to the 1980s, when it first hit popular culture. DJs, well, scratch! And if you don’t scratch? Go figure. It’s Just. One. Of. The. Big. Skills.

2. It forces you to actually play on your gear, to learn the ins and outs. So you jump in a big, flashy sports car. You’re not going to find out what it (or you) can do if you just drive to the shops in it, through city traffic, are you? You’re only going to find that out on quiet, mountain roads where you can let rip and hit some challenging corners. Better, on a racetrack. Same with DJ gear. You’re not really USING it unless you do what it was made for. So scratch!

3. It shows the rest of the world that you’re doing something. Sure, YOU know that what you just did with automated cue points and those two tunes in the same key, beat-gridded together is actually kinda cool. Your audience? None the wiser. Same goes for that smooth beat-mix, that clever acapella. But a nice bit of scratching? NOW they know you’re doing something. It’s part of the showmanship of DJing. You need some of it.

4. You can scratch in pretty much any DJing situation – Many people think scratching is only for hip hop DJs, but it’s being used by DJs in most genres, and from clubs to weddings (seriously – a judicious bit of scratching a couple of times in a wedding DJ set is engaging and gets respect – and that leads to full dancefloors and people present booking you for more high-paid weddings
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About Digital DJ Tips: Featuring news, reviews, show reports, and tutorials,
Digital DJ Tips is one of the most-read DJ tech websites in the world, with over 60,000 students on its paid and free DJ courses.

As a professional reviewer of premium gear I’m really not supposed to use words like “neat.” But that’s the first word that comes to mind as we put the new Pioneer DDJ-400 controller through its paces. What else can you say of a seriously affordable 2-channel controller that offers club-style features, the newest Rekordbox upgrade AND shows you how to use them.

Feature Highlights

Club-style layout: If the play/pause/cue buttons, tempo sliders, loop and cue/loop call, trim, headphone cueing and bright blue on/off button strike you as identical to the DDJ-1000’s layout, you’re not alone. You gotta love it when tech trickles down.

Built-in tutorials: Learning how to DJ just got interactive. The DDJ-400 actually tells you how each function operates, and waits for you to follow the onscreen instructions.

Rekordbox DJ License included: How badly does Pioneer want to own the “My First Controller” market? Bad enough to include a free full version of its Rekordbox software in every box (a $129 value).

POOL Pro Tip: What’s NOT in your POOL folders(And why you should care)

Did you know that some of the single tracks attached to your app’s Issues & Singles tab bring you versions NOT found in your standard folders? Here’s how you can quickly find those bonus tracks…

Start by looking in your POOL app’s “#" column -- the row that shows how many songs are stored in each folder.

If you see a folder count of just 1, it’s likely that song will appear in your weekly and monthly folders. If, however, you see a folder count of 2 or more, that’s your tip-off to
remixes, instrumentals and probably some mix-show versions that will NOT appear elsewhere.

You… might want to check those out.

So the next time your looking for a remix, dance mix or instrumental, follow the #.